Families
are more likely to feel comfortable in their neighborhood if they
feel that their children are safe. Parents were asked how often
they felt that their child was safe in their community or neighborhood—
never, sometimes, usually, or always. Overall, parents of almost
84 percent of children report that they feel that their child is
usually or always safe in their neighborhood. Parents of children
in rural areas are more likely to feel that their child is safe
than parents of children in urban areas: 82.6 percent of children
in urban areas are safe, according to their parents, compared to
86.9 percent of children in large rural and 90.2 percent of children
in small rural areas.

Parents of children with higher family incomes and
White, multiracial, and American Indian/Alaska Native children are
most likely to report that their child is safe in his or her neighborhood.
Within every income group, the percent of children whose parents
report them to be safe in their neighborhood is highest in rural
areas, although the disparity between urban and rural begins to
diminish as income rises. For instance, among children with family
incomes below the Federal poverty level (FPL), 66.5 percent in urban
areas are reportedly safe in their neighborhood, compared to 82.7
percent in small rural areas; among children with family incomes
of 400 percent of FPL and above, the rate in urban areas is 93.1
percent compared to 95.7 percent and 95.5 percent in large and small
rural areas, respectively.

In each racial and ethnic group, rural children are
more likely to be reported as safe in their neighborhoods, with
one exception: White children are least likely to be reported to
be safe in the neighborhood in large rural areas (90.8 percent),
although they are most likely to be considered safe in the neighborhood
in small rural areas (93.4 percent). In all locations, White children
are more likely to be reported to be safe in their neighborhood
than are Black children: of urban White children, for example, 91.5
percent are reported to be safe, compared to 68.0 percent of urban
Black children.

This chartbook is based
on data from the National Survey of Children's Health. Suggested
citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources
and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The National
Survey of Children's Health 2003. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, 2005.